BigChief 

It was good to flood the AW hub with oil initially, but from now on, it will only require a few drops each season. In the long run, the hub shell will get dirty and need a cleaning, but there won't be any puddles.

Salubrious

Its my opinion that the later years of Raleighs 3-speed production did them no favors. Tolerances in the SA hubs was not as good and it does seem that they leak more. The frames got whippier too. At least you know that if there is no puddle, its likely because its out of oil.

I find that a nice 1950s SA hub holds its oil "pretty well" (by seeming British standards of the day- I used to own a BSA Super Rocket and an Ariel Squarefour) and the bearing quality is equal to that of Campy no worries. The frame on my Humber seems quite a bit stiffer too.

bmthom.gis

Laced up a new set of CR 18s last night to the SA hubs. What a great rim...had zero problems. My friend I did this with (cause he knows what he is doing, I do not, but now I know some) had some cool green nipples I used for the rear and the two spokes surrounding the valve stem hole on the front. If anyone ever steals it, at least it should make for an easy and unique ID. They aren't really that noticeable unless you take a good look.

3speedslow

They are great rims but for the life of me, I can't leave those stickers on.

Fenway

I haven't taken a test ride with the lights yet due to a spate of garbage weather and on the one nice day, doing final adjustments prior to a planned test ride, I managed to drop a spanner on the indicator spindle snapping the chain. Picked up a replacement from Harris Cyclery after work today and will give it a go tomorrow.

The lights don't turn on at a walking pace, but if I spin the front wheel by hand they seem to work.

Edit: Fitted the water bottle cage. Fully kitted out exactly the way I want him now.

Loose Chain

Interesting, SA did not go over to Sun until 2000? So when would you consider the later years of SA production?

You know, I took the thing apart, there really are no seals, once the oil level rises above the lip of the sides, the drive side in particular, I cannot see that oil would not spill out.

It is not that the frame feels weak, but there is not that springiness that I feel in my road bikes, I can get in plane with them, not sure with the Raleigh. But, it was not meant for that sort of riding so I am not being critical that I say it feels comparatively soft against by Pinarello. Plus there is the mush of the tires, I only have 50 psi in them. Maybe bump that up when I buy a more quality tire for it.

The Sun rims are the bomb!

J

BigChief 

I have an old Rudge that's in line for CR-18s. Do you mind if I pick your brain? What spokes did you use? Did you use washers to add thickness to the flange walls? was it the usual 40H and 32H with a 3x pattern? If so, I'd like to know what length spokes you used. Thanks

Loose Chain

I did not use washers. They are straight gauge DT with chrome brass nipples. They are laced 3X and my wheels, front and rear are 36 spokes. I do not see that washers are needed. I guess it could not hurt on the rear but I am not seeing how they could even be used on the tiny little front hub, so neither got them.

I have another bike and it is 32/40 but I have not started on it yet. It could be a ways down the road while I work on my Guerciotti SLX.

J

Narhay

I used washers (two under each spoke elbow). I used Sapim double butted stainless steel spokes from Danscomp. I did 3x on everything, including the front dynohub (usually 2x but I ordered longer spokes and tried 3x no problems). I would not build them without washers as my spoke elbows had lots of play on the flange without them.

NormanF

By changing to alloy wheels and a modern IGH hub, you would eliminate a few pounds of weight and have a much nicer riding bicycle. Putting a three speed on a diet makes the bike really shine as day-to-day transportation.

Loose Chain

Are cork grips acceptable on a Raleigh. I find the original grips difficult to grip, plain and simple. They are hard and of small diameter. My hands are not so big but a touch of arthritis and all that and they just do not close down without tiring on the small grips.

BigChief 

Yes! Cork grips and Brooks saddles fit right in the tradition of English roadsters.

clasher

I've rebuilt a couple of SA hubs into modern rims, I think the last time I used 272mm spokes in a 3 cross pattern. I didn't write it down anywhere but I have an empty 272mm bag of spokes kicking around and I don't think the math works out to use that size in any other wheels I've built. I used stainless m2 washers under my spokes on the rear, next time I do a dynohub I'll try building that with washers. I grab my washers from any fastener store, they are pretty cheap.

DQRider 

That's good to know. So lacing in the S-A hub doesn't require dishing, right?

clasher

That's how I've always built them. I don't know that I've ever seen a wheel with an SA hub that is dished.

NormanF

Cork shatters easily. I've replaced mine with Origin8 Corkie rubber grips. Have the vintage look and they're durable.

Salubrious

Anything after 1974 or so.
One thought is to grease the bearings, which helps to hold the oil in. But you don't need so much oil that it can breach the lip of the sides.
I found that the lower pressure tires gave a soft ride, but were for sure slowing me down. Some people don't like the Michelins because of their reflective strip, but the additional tire pressure makes for a more sporting ride.


I have the same problem. I have a set of Brooks leather grips on my bike. I got them for Christmas which is good because I would have paid almost as much for them as I did the bike itself. They are look nice and a lot more comfortable. I put cork on one of my Humber Sports and it definitely looks the part, and might be more comfortable than the Brooks.

Fenway

Tested my bike today with the 6v 1.8w GH-6 Dynohub. While the lights initially wouldn't kick on at walking speed (as they do with a modern 6v 3.0w dynamo hub), at riding speed the tail light was immediately at full brightness and the headlight after a minute or two was at either full or at least decent output. Once the stand-light capacitors at riding speed the lights stayed lit for the standard ~5 minutes and then would function the same as a full power dynamo at walking speed (slight flicker). So it seems the downside to using one of these older dynamos is that at least until the stand-lights capacitors are fully charged the headlight won't have full output and that the capacitors probably take a little bit longer to fully charge. But at least otherwise they seem to work fine with modern LED lighting from B&M.

Loose Chain

Thanks for the excellent info. My SA is a 1973. I did grease the bearings of the hub upon reassembly on both sides and the "seal" area on the drive side. It just had too much oil in it I suppose. The leakage seems to have decreased . I have the cork grips, just need to think on it some if I want to install them.

markk900

I really like the feel of the cork grips. They are not as durable as rubber (I did not shellac mine) but they are very comfortable.

Loose Chain

So on cork grips do y'all use varnish, shellac, or nothing?

Do you put them on with the hairspray?

J

markk900

I used nothing on the cork itself, and they went on a little loose on the bars so I put a couple of strips of tape spaced a couple inches apart and they are nice and firm now

DQRider 

I used shellac, two coats, and not only did that make them more durable, but it improved the look as well. I used JB Weld clear RTV to secure them. This means I will have to cut them off and spend some time cleaning up when I replace them, but at least they are secure.

noglider 

That works better than you might hope for, so overall, it's a good deal.

streets

A DL-1 I picked up recently has these pedals. Can anyone tell me what they're from/who makes them? I haven't seen any like them before: